6.6-magnitude quake hits Indonesia, no tsunami warning

The undersea quake hit at a depth of 24 kilometres at about 1am, 30 kilometres from Sorong, in West Papua

JAKARTA: A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck the eastern Indonesian region of Papua on Friday, US seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was issued.

The undersea quake hit at a depth of 24 kilometres (14 miles) at about 1:00 am (1600 GMT), 30 kilometres from Sorong, in West Papua province, the US Geological Survey said.

Prelim M6.6 earthquake NEAR N COAST OF PAPUA, INDONESIA Sep-24 15:53 UTC, updates http://t.co/ZyB3ewKrod

— USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) September 24, 2015

The USGS initially put the quake's magnitude at 6.9 but then revised it down.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a tsunami. There was no immediate information on whether the quake had caused casualties or damage.

Read: Moderate 5.4-magnitude earthquake rocks Tokyo

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

In July, a teenage boy fell into a river and died and several buildings were damaged when a 7.0-magnitude quake rocked Papua.

A huge undersea quake in 2004 triggered a tsunami that engulfed Aceh province on western Sumatra island, killing more than 170,000 people in Indonesia and tens of thousands more in other countries with coasts on the Indian Ocean.